North Korea Test Fires Missiles As Kim Jong Un’s Powerful Sister Rejects Trump’s Overture
North Korea on Thursday test-fired several ballistic missiles on Thursday amid ongoing U.S.-South Korea joint military drills, as Kim Yo-jong—the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un—dismissed Trump’s remarks about scaling back the exercise as an overture to Pyongyang and said she is “unaware” of any recent talks between Trump and Kim.
The South Korean military on Thursday said it had detected the launch of at least 10 short-range ballistic missiles toward the sea on its eastern coast—and labeled the launch as a provocation, according to Yonhap News Agency.
The launches came hours after Trump said he plans to meet the North Korean leader sometime later this year—although its unclear if any discussions have been made with Pyongyang in this regard.
The president also claimed that North Korea possessed 57 “very powerful nuclear weapons” in its arsenal—marking the first time the U.S. has publicly stated an official count—and said it should have never been allowed to happen.
Trump also said he gets along “very well” with Kim and claimed that the North Korean leader didn’t like his predecessors, Biden and Obama, but likes him.
The president, however, refused to say if he plans to push for North Korea’s denuclearization, noting only that Kim will be “fine as long as we have a smart president.”
In a statement issued to state-run media, Kim Yo-jong, who is considered to be a powerful member of her brother’s regime, said Trump’s decision to scale back the joint military drill with South Korea did not change their “provocative and aggressive nature.” She noted that the regime has “no interest whatsoever” in this overture made by the American president. On Trump’s comments that he had received a “very positive” response from North Korea on his push for talks, Kim said she was “unaware” of any recent talks between the two countries’ leaders. Despite this, she acknowledged that her brother had “good memories and feelings” about meeting with Trump in the past and said the relationship between the two remained “excellent.” Kim, however, noted that: “Regardless of the excellent relationship between the leaders of North Korea and the U.S., the sovereign measures we are taking to deter the forces threatening our national security are completely reasonable, appropriate and necessary.”
In a Truth Social post on Sunday, Trump expressed unhappiness with the U.S. military’s participation in joint exercises with South Korea. Touting his “very good relationship with Kim Jong Un,” Trump complained about the high costs of these exercises and echoed Pyongyang’s argument that the drills were sending a “totally inappropriate and hostile,” signal. Trump also claimed North Korea has been “unthreatening and respectful” to the U.S. during his presidency. Noting that it was too late scrap the drills entirely, the president said he had ordered the Pentagon to “substantially reduce” them.
South Korea’s defense minister provided a different assessment of North Korea’s nuclear arsenal. Ahn Gyu-back told lawmakers in Seoul that the South Korean government believes the North has between 80 to 120 warheads, adding that an exact count is difficult. This is much higher than the 57 war heads number flagged by Trump.